Naza Kia has officially launched the Kia Grand Carnival in the country. Previewed last year, the eight-seater MPV – known as the Sedona in other markets – makes its local debut in three variant forms, a 2.2 CRDI KX, 2.2 CRDI EX and a base, low-spec 2.2D.

All versions of the third-gen Carnival – which measures in at 5,115 mm long, 1,985 mm wide and 1,740 mm tall, with a 3,060 mm-long wheelbase – sold here use the same engine, a R 2.2 litre CRDi turbodiesel four-cylinder unit providing 190 hp at 3,800 rpm and 440 Nm of torque at 1,750 to 2,750 rpm. The mill is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission.

Exterior features common to all models are projector halogen headlamps (with LED DRLs), front and rear fog lamps, LED-type rear combination lamps, electric-folding side mirrors (with LED indicators) and a shark fin antenna.

The highest-spec 2.2 CRDI EX adds on a roof rack, and gets a black radiator grill with chrome accents (on the KX and 2.2D, plain black). All variants also come dressed with 18-inch alloy wheels, shod with 235/60 profile tyres – the 2.2D and KX’s units are finished in silver, while the EX’s are machined finished.

The base 2.2D is equipped with manually-operated sliding rear doors and a standard key fob, while the 2.2 CRDI KX brings power sliding doors, keyless operation (entry with push-start) into the equation. The 2.2 CRDI EX adds a smart power tailgate on top of that.

Other features include a tilt/telescopic steering wheel (leather on the EX), foot parking brake and auto cruise control, and there are manual sunshade blinds for the second and third row windows. Also, the KX and EX get a rear-view camera.

The 2.2 CRDI KX gets grey two-tone fabric seats, while the 2.2 CRDI EX ups these to beige two-tone leather units. Both the 2.2D and 2.2 CRDI KX come with manual air-conditioning, while the 2.2 CRDI EX gets a triple-zone automatic climate control with cluster ioniser. All three seat rows have their own set of ceiling-mounted air-conditioning vents.

Space is the selling point with this one – the second-row seats are foldable in a 40:20:40 split, and can be slid forwards for easier access to the third row. The rearmost seats, meanwhile, can be folded flat in a 50:50 split to accommodate bags and other cargo. Boot luggage space with seats up is 359 litres, going up to 2,718 litres with seats folded.

As for the front seats, the 2.2 CRDI KX (and 2.2D) are of the manual adjustment variety, with powered lumbar support being available for the driver side seat. Meanwhile, the 2.2 CRDI EX gets a powered 12-way front driver’s seat, with the passenger side being a manual unit.

Safety-wise, all variants of the Grand Carnival come equipped with six airbags (dual front, side and curtain), front and rear parking sensors, electronic stability control, ABS and hill assist control as standard.

Also fitted are Isofix child seat mounts, with two located at the second row (outer seats) and one more at the third row (driver’s side). A quick note about the grand Carnival’s seat belt configuration – the 2.2D features two lap belts (centre seats on both second and third row), but both the 2.2 CRDI KX and EX have the full raft of three-point seatbelts.

Three colours are available for the Grand Carnival – Snow White Pearl, Aurora Black Pearl and Titanium Brown.

Finally, pricing. The Kia Grand Carnival is priced at RM153,888 for the entry-level 2.2D, while the 2.2 CRDI KX goes for RM169,888 and the range-topping 2.2 CRDI EX is priced at RM185,888. All prices mentioned here are on-the-road with insurance, and come inclusive of a five-year/unlimited mileage manufacturer’s warranty and Naza Kia’s ‘Value 5’ smart financing package.

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

Naza not really concerned about profits now.
The young bosses,are more into real estate development.
It is just a toy…..to them,which makes the dead tycoon very angry to see his pet auto empire crumble.They have huge AP permits,so no matter how much complaints r unattended to,it makes no difference.
Never buy a KIa in malaysia.The sole distributor’s service centres are appalling.

I think its a good compromise. If not, there is only 1 option for petrol engine. Its a 3.3L V6. The fuel consumption sure alot of people will complain, not to mention the roadtax price ( about RM2.1k a year for peninsular M’sia). The diesel variant is the only one suitable to bring in here, (RM600 roadtax a year only)

The COO,Samson the great,said this mpv going to undo the bad sales of 2016.
He is banking on a rm150-185k mpv for overwhelming sales at Naza.
6 months down the road,when sales stagnate…he will bring out another Kia model and say the same rubbish.
At rm2-3K instalment a month,how many can afford to buy?
Naza….another photocopy of UMW….talk very big…but cannot deliver sales.
Honda,….talk big but can produce results…that the difference.

If I had read correctly, and if the base 2.2D has the full complement of airbags, it seems like a pretty good deal.

Big people carrier, fuel efficient torqey diesel. It has the entire market to itself, until the Innova Diesel comes along later in the year. But having driven the previous Sedona (and the Toyota Sienna it competes with) it would be light years ahead of the Innova in terms of ride refinement and driving comfort.

bro..touran is small mpv ler…this is full size mpv. In the VW stable will be either the VW Sharan (RM250k..wt the GTI engine but no TDI available in MSia hence FC will be higher) or SEAT Alhambra (Sharan clone wt SEAT badge (SEAT owns by VW)..

this is a joke! base spec at 154k no keyless operation (entry with push start)? come on la naza. picanto which is an A segment car got this keyless operation (entry with push start). while ur biggest mpv don’t have this? it’s 2017 already, keyless operation (entry with push start) must be fitted as standard. if u put keyless operation (entry with push start) as standard in base spec, then i’m sold. 186k seems too expensive to me for now, just to get this keyless operation (entry with push start) function. k bye.

when Kia brings in the Sedona with 200hp/400nm engine you complaint no keyless, but when recon shop sell outrageously expansive used /recon alphard vellfire that don’t even have a working FM nobody complains. What a joke

this thing has been previewed, launched and pre launched like a million times…
ive seen few on the road actually and they look damn good…and definetly looks european and not korean….
if only the diesel had few more toys , it wd be a good deal….

Mahal? low spec? compared to the starex, which is actually RM12k more than the base carnival and has only 2 airbags and minimum active safety features (and little other features too!), the carnival is quite well priced when compared to its space, safety features and much more flexible seats. not to mention it has more torque than the starex. go see first or test drive before commenting…dont talk kokkk

the engine figures are very impressive, better than BMW 520d! i have seen it on the road, and IMO it really looks very good. If I were in the market for an MPV, I would probably get the Carnival, even though i have to deal with Naza :(

the only complaint that i have is the beige interior. I can understand that it makes the interior look bigger and more spacious, but it gets dirty very fast. however credit to naza for fitting black car mats.

This low spec carnival looks better than low spec starex and also starex is more expensive than carnival. Now hyundai starex sudah 4 kali facelift and still using old technology since 2007 (10 years already)!!

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